By Keith Idec
Josesito Lopez lost by technical knockout for the first time in his 10-year pro career when he fought Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, but he has taken positives away from the experience other than a career-high purse of $212,500.
By moving up to 154 pounds for the first time, Lopez’s body grew accustomed to maintaining more weight during training camp. That has helped the Riverside, Calif., native as he has prepared for another big welterweight fight against Marcos Maidana.
Lopez (30-5, 18 KOs, 1 NC) and Argentina’s Maidana (33-3, 30 KOs) will square off June 8 at Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. Their 12-round fight for the WBA’s Intercontinental 147-pound championship will headline a Showtime tripleheader.
“I wouldn’t say the move to 154 was a great decision, but I have no regrets on taking that fight,” Lopez said. “I fought one of the best fighters out there and I lost. … But I think moving up to 154 has probably helped me mold a little bit better to 147. So I now I feel a little bit better, and feel more comfortable at 147.”
Lopez stopped Victor Ortiz in his last welterweight fight June 23 in Los Angeles. Lopez broke Ortiz’s jaw during that slugfest and Ortiz (29-4-2, 22 KOs) still has not returned to the ring.
The hard-hitting Maidana, meanwhile, didn’t make much of Alvarez stopping Lopez, who was knocked down three times by Alvarez (42-0-1, 30 KOs) after jumping up two weight classes in a matter of two fights to challenge the unbeaten Mexican star.
“I feel it’s going to be a tough fight,” Maidana said. “He went to fight ‘Canelo’ and he had no business in that division. So I think that at 147, it’s more his weight class and it’s going to be a tough fight. He’s a very tough fighter. He’s going to be stronger in his weight class, so I’ve got a very, very difficult fight.”
Keith Idec covers boxing for The Record and Herald News, of Woodland Park, N.J., and BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
